Course corrections

Image by Storm Crypt via Flickr

In my last post, I outlined 7 ways we can be thrown of course from God's Big Idea for our life. In this post, we will look at ways in which we can make course corrections.

An airplane autopilot automatically does the thousands of tiny little corrections required to keep an airplane headed in the right direction (and at the right altitude, if so equipped) without the pilots having to constantly keep adjusting the course from second to second as atmospheric conditions keep bumping the airplane around, usually almost imperceptibly.

If you could look behind you in an airplane and see the path you have taken through the air with the autopilot engaged, you would see a zig-zag path of many slight corrections the net result of which is the desired course [source: Yahoo Answers].

So too in life, we are under a constant threat of being blown off course in our life's Big Idea. So how do we make course corrections as we travel the course that God has laid out for us?

1. The Word - God's Word is the ultimate authority in a Christian's life . We need to always be comparing our life direction, purpose, and goals with what God tells us in His Word. Any direction in our life that doesn't line up with Scripture is not His plan for us.
2. Prayer - God wants us to talk to Him and tell Him about our challenges, difficulties, and struggles. He wants us to be fully dependent on Him as we travel our course through life.
3. Christian Friends - We should seek out positive, Christian friends that can hold us up during difficult times and spur us on to greatness in our mission. The best friends we can have are the one's who will tell us straight to our face when we're heading in the wrong direction.
   
4. Mentors - Our course in life is more easily traveled if we follow after someone who has already done what we feel God has called us to do. They can share with us not only what to do but what not to do. We can learn from their mistakes and victories.
5. Christian Life Coach - Unlike traditional "therapy", [Christian] coaching connects clients in a mutual exploration of possibilities, motivations, values, empowering beliefs, skills, and capabilities to develop ecological goals, action plans, and contingency planning [Source: thechristiancoach.com].